2008 Apple Notebook Event

Now that this morning’s Apple Notebook Event is over it is time to take a step back from the initial hype and look at what was actually announced. See below!

For the MacBook Air: It now gets the GeForce 9400M. A 128 GB SSD and Mini Display Port. $1,799.99. The second model is $2,499.99 and you get faster processor and SSD. The new models will be available in early November.

For the MacBook: The (current?) price is $1,099.99, but there’ll now also be a $999.99 model. Thinner, metal. Multitouch glass trackpad. 5-hour battery life. Unibody construction. First model is the $999.99, but the $1,299.99 model is the metal enclosure and such. For just $1,599.99 you get backlit keyboard, larger hard drive, and faster processor. Shipping today, should be in stores tomorrow. The trackpad button is the trackpad (all notebook models…??), they apparently aren’t as different as they may sound at first. Also, sadly (for me at least), the MacBook now lacks FireWire.

For the MacBook Pro: It has a full glass screen (looking a lot like the iMac). Multitouch glass trackpad, LED backlit display, next-gen graphics, mini display port connector, aluminum unibody enclosure. The unibody saves Apple half of the parts, and it’s a more rigid construction. NVIDA GeForce 9400M, also contains the GeForce 9600M GT. The 9600 GT has 32 parallel graphics cores, 120 gigaflops, and 512 MB GDDR3. 5 hours of battery life with the 9400M and 4 hours of battery life with the 9600M GT. Ports and peripherals: Slot-loading SuperDrive, MagSafe, gigabit ethernet, firewire 800, two USB, Mini Display Port, audio in and out, expresscard 34 slot, battery indicator on the side. The Mini Display is the equivalent of a fullsize DVI connector. There will be both HDD and SSD options. Access to battery and drives using lid on bottom. 802.11n, Bluetooth 2.1, and it’s just 0.95 inches thick. Two configurations: 1. $1,999.99 and you get 15.4 inch display, 2.4 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, both NVIDA chips, 250 GB HDD. 2. $2,499.99 and 15.4 inch, 2.53 GHz. You can upgrade any model to 2.8 GHz. It ships today and will be in stores tomorrow.

New 24’’ Display: First cinema display to use LED backlighting. Very thin, corner to corner glass. The display has some neat features for notebooks. One of the cords is a MagSafe cable to plug into notebook and power notebook. Another is USB, another is power. It has a built-in iSight (I, personally, was expecting that), built-in stereo speakers, MagSafe, Mini Display Port, three-port USB 2.0 hub. $899.99 available in November.

Online Apple Store: Well, the store was taken down at 10:35 am. It went back up before 3:00 pm.

For the numbers: 250 stores in 8 countries who greet more than 400,000 visitors a day. 50% of the Macs they sell are to customers new to the Mac. The Mac has outgrown the market for the last 14 of 15 quarters. In U.S. retail, Apple has gone from single digit number (market share) to 18% of unit sales. Over 31% of revenue share (1 out of every 3 dollars is spent on Mac in U.S. retail). Macs in universities and colleges is up to 47%. In first 3 fiscal quarters of 2008 Apple has already equalled all of 2007. Oh, and Steve’s blood pressure is 110/70.

Enjoy, Alex.